A mental health crisis allegedly brought on by devastating financial losses preceded the apparent murder-suicide of a wealthy fashion industry couple, according to a relative.
Bryan Walker, 64, and his wife of more than 30 years, Michelle Min, 63, were found dead Friday on the terrace of their $1.2 million home in the hills near UC Berkeley, California.
Min’s brother, Paul Min, 58, said there had been no apparent trouble in the couple’s marriage. However, he claimed Walker had lost a fortune through a series of risky financial decisions.
Paul alleged that Walker had secretly borrowed money against properties and pursued increasingly dangerous investments. Those losses left him convinced that he had squandered more than $100 million.
The financial collapse reportedly sent Walker into a severe psychological decline during the weeks leading up to the couple’s deaths.
“He just curled up into a ball, and he was just sobbing like a baby for weeks on end,” Paul told The California Post. “He was just completely useless.”
The family became so alarmed by Walker’s deteriorating condition that they feared he might take his own life. According to Paul, relatives eventually arranged for him to be admitted to a psychiatric facility.
But Paul said the crisis turned violent on the morning Walker was expected to enter the facility.
Bryan Walker, 64, and his wife Michelle Min, 63, were found shot dead Friday at their $1.2 million home in California.
Walker and Min owned the women’s fashion company Bryn Walker, with Min playing a prominent role in running the successful California-based business. The Berkeley-area location is pictured.
Just before the shooting, Walker allegedly sent a disturbing message to a friend who lived nearby: “Call 911!”
The friend immediately rushed toward the house, but gunshots rang out before he could get there.
Paul believes Walker had positioned a firearm downstairs before Michelle stepped onto the patio with the couple’s small dog, Pip.
He alleged that Walker then went upstairs, shot his wife and used the weapon against himself.
Oakland police have not officially classified the deaths as a murder-suicide. Investigators are still working to establish what happened, and officers have recovered one firearm from the home.
Surveillance footage reviewed by CBS News captured the frightening moments surrounding the deaths.
At approximately 10:43 a.m. Friday, the recording captured a gunshot, followed by the sound of a man crying and screaming in what CBS described as a “very dramatic” scene.
A second gunshot was heard moments later. After that, CBS reported, “it was dead quiet.”
The $1.2 million California home where fashion executive Bryan Walker and his wife, Michelle Min, were found shot dead. Police are investigating the deaths as a possible murder-suicide.
The tragedy ended a marriage that Paul said had lasted for more than 30 years.
The couple ran women’s fashion company Bryn Walker, although Paul said his sister controlled the business while her husband had not worked for some time.
Walker was allowed to ‘play’ with some of their money, according to Paul, but his brother-in-law claims the investments spiraled out of control.
Walker allegedly borrowed against family properties without their knowledge and gambled on risky options and leveraged positions.
By mid-September, Paul said Walker believed the damage exceeded $100 million.
‘Imagine that happening to you? You would collapse,’ Paul said. ‘Your spouse lied to you and lost over $100 million and you might be out on the streets.
‘You might go from being one of the wealthiest people in the country to being homeless because your husband lied to you and wagered everything on crazy bets.’
Min refused to give up, according to Paul, who said she devoted herself to caring for her husband as he deteriorated, feeding and comforting him while desperately trying to convince him that their situation could be repaired.
She even allegedly hired what Paul described as a ‘hotshot’ Chicago accountant to untangle their finances.
Police descended on the couple’s home in the hills near UC Berkeley after Walker and Min were found dead on Friday morning
The accountant concluded that the couple’s predicament was not as disastrous as Walker feared.
But Paul said his brother-in-law’s mental state had already deteriorated drastically.
Walker ‘had basically gone insane,’ the family claimed.
Relatives also took the precaution of hiding the family’s firearms because of concerns that Walker could hurt himself.
But Paul believes Walker managed to retrieve a gun and concealed it in a downstairs bedroom, where he loaded it before the shooting.
The family was preparing to have him institutionalized after their other attempts to get him help had failed, Paul said.
Investigators also discovered what Paul characterized as a form of suicide note at the property.
It contained passcodes for both Walker’s and Michelle’s phones, which Paul believes were left so relatives could access them and sort out the couple’s affairs.
Paul said his sister remained devoted to Walker even after discovering the scale of his alleged financial decisions and is devastated that her husband felt she had to die alongside him.
Police secure the scene after Michelle Min and Bryan Walker were found fatally shot at their Berkeley Hills home on Friday morning
‘Why take our beautiful sister?’ Paul asked. ‘Why not just kill yourself?’
‘My sister was utterly devoted to Bryan to the very end, and he shot her.
‘She didn’t say anything harsh to him. She just said, “Bryan, you’ve been sick. It’s my fault, I should have known better. I should have known you were in a crisis.”
‘She blamed herself. That’s the kind of person she was.’
Paul believes Walker may have acted after discovering that relatives planned to have him institutionalized, although he acknowledged that even the family does not know precisely what happened or why.
‘I think he was just too weak to go by himself,’ Paul said. ‘I used to think of him as a strong person, but I’d never seen him tested. When he lost his money, I kept trying to tell him, like, “It’s just money.”‘
Paul now plans to take over the family’s fashion business while relatives attempt to unravel what he described as the ‘complete mess’ left behind.
Oakland police are leading the investigation and have not ruled out murder-suicide. The Daily Mail has contacted the force for comment.